I wanted to test AI image generation accuracy, so I tried to create real-life options via Lexington, Kentucky Midjourney 5 interpretations. I used Discord as the platform to display the images produced by the AI. Next, I used Midjourney 5, which is the current version, as the AI creation system. For each image, I will add the prompt and then note how accurate or inaccurate it is.
Note that the “–v 5” in the prompt causes Midjourney to use its version 5, not an earlier version. The “–ar 3:2” produces images in a 3:2 aspect ratio.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Downtown Lexington, KY #1
Prompt: aerial photo of downtown lexington, kentucky on a sunny morning –v 5 –ar 3:2
Accuracy: This image isn’t accurate at all. While it has the overall vibe of Lexington, the buildings are not accurate, nor are the quantity or height of structures in the downtown area. This image has the feel of the University of Kentucky campus, which is close to downtown, but Midjourney didn’t produce a strong image based on my request.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Downtown Lexington, KY #2
Prompt: photo realistic image of downtown lexington, kentucky –v 5 –ar 3:2
Accuracy: This time I used the term photo realistic to try to get Midjourney to create a more accurate image. The feel of the buildings is accurate, especially the closest ones to the viewer. Also, the tall building on the right, commonly called the Big Blue Building, is reminiscent of the actual Lexington Financial Center. A few of the other buildings also have design elements that match real buildings in the downtown area. However, the roads, especially the lanes, look nothing like downtown Lexington, KY, nor does the long line of trees (unless something has been planted and grown up in the last year). Still, this is a decent image, even though it’s not photo realistic by any measure.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Downtown Lexington, KY #3
Prompt: ultra realistic photo of buildings in downtown lexington kentucky at street level –v 5 –ar 3:2
Accuracy: While it isn’t ultra realistic, this image would evoke a strong feeling or perhaps memory for people who live in Lexington. The building styles, heights, brick colors, windows and awnings are extremely similar to those in the real world. Still, this looks too much like a video game interpretation of downtown Lexington, KY.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Downtown Lexington, KY #4
Prompt: realistic photo of downtown lexington, kentucky canon eos 5d 50mm f2.4 –v 5 –ar 3:2
Accuracy: Finally, I added a specific camera, lens and setting to try to get a realistic image. The image speaks for itself, insofar as realism is concerned. It’s far more photo-realistic than the earlier images, though it’s not exactly accurate.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Downtown Lexington, KY #5
Prompt: realistic photo of downtown lexington, kentucky canon eos 5d 50mm f2.4 –v 5 –ar 3:2 –s 750
Accuracy: This image uses the same prompt as the one above, but this time I added “–s 750” (or –stylize 750) to introduce a stylize parameter. For locals, this will appear to be one of the streets a couple of blocks off Main Street.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Downtown Lexington, KY #6
Prompt: realistic photo of downtown lexington, kentucky canon eos 5d 50mm f2.4 –v 5 –ar 3:2 –s 750
Accuracy: This image uses the same prompt as the one above, including a stylize parameter. You’ll note that it is the first night image, though I did not include night in the prompt. It’s not true-to-life, of course, but it has the feel of Main Street at night in downtown Lexington, KY.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Lexington, KY Horse Farm #1
Prompt: horse farm with fences in lexington, kentucky –v 5 –ar 3:2
Accuracy: First, Lexington is surrounded by horse farms, many of which have iconic black fences. I intentionally left out the word black to see if Midjourney would add them. As you can see, it did. However, the image isn’t photo-realistic, nor does it seem like one of the huge horse farms nearby. Plus, there are no horses. It’s more like a nice home on some rolling hills, so I tried another prompt.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Lexington, KY Horse Farm #2
Prompt: large lexington kentucky horse farm with fences taken by canon eos 5d 50mm f2.4 –v 5 –ar 3:2
Accuracy: This version was far closer to reality than the first one, though not perfect. Again, it seems that adding a real camera with actual attributes affects the realism of the results.
Midjourney 5 Interpretation of Rolling Hills Around Lexington, KY
Prompt: rolling hills around lexington kentucky taken by canon eos 5d 50mm f2.4 –v 5 –ar 3:2
Accuracy: This is very close to the appearance of rolling hills around Lexington, mainly south of the city towards Richmond. It’s not photo-realistic, but it’s very nice. In fact, it was good enough on the first try that it might actually fool some viewers.
Conclusion
The attempt to create Lexington, Kentucky Midjourney 5 interpretations ended with mixed results, most of which were sub-par. Still, I learned that adding camera information to the Discord prompt improved the results. So, I will continue to include various cameras to tweak the results.
Contact the Author
Please feel free to contact me. If you have a useful question or comment, I’ll add it here with my thoughts as appropriate, though I will never post your name or email address.
Bill Adams
[email protected]
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